people | academic and research staff | support staff | PhD students

Dr Jeff Brunstrom

Reader

telephone: +44 (0)117 92 88574 email: Jeff.Brunstrom@bris.ac.uk

Room 5D3

Biographical details

I received my Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 1997 (Department of Psychology). This work explored aspects of human thirst and determinants of beverage choice. In 1999 I was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Human Sciences at Loughborough University. In 2005 I moved to Bristol to begin a lectureship in the Department of Experimental Psychology. My current position is Reader in Behavioural Nutrition.

Current research interests

Key words: Dietary behaviour and food choice; individual differences, obesity, cognition, dietary control, portion size, and overeating; associative learning, dietary learning, and evaluative conditioning.

For the most part, flavour preferences and dietary habits are acquired over time. I have been preoccupied by the psychological processes that underpin this kind of learning. I am also interested in the ways in which this dietary learning might differ across groups of individuals, for example, in those who do and do not consciously restrict their dietary intake. More generally, I have an interest in the relationship between cognition and dietary control. For example, projects have explored the interplay between attention (focused and divided) and meal size. I am also interested in understanding the ‘reactivity’ that is experienced after exposure to the sight and smell food and how heightened reactivity might promote overweight and obesity.

Recently, I have focused on projects exploring decisions about portion size. Researchers with an interest in energy intake tend to focus on psychological and biological events that occur towards the end of a meal. However, what is often overlooked is that energy intake (meal size) tends to be determined before a meal begins. My research explores the basis on which decisions about portion size are made. My studies show that anticipated fullness and satisfaction are critical. Indeed, ‘expected satiation’ and ‘expected satiety’ may be the key drivers of the number of calories that we put on our plate (even more important than palatability). Currently, two research projects (funded by the BBSRC [DRINC initiative] and an industry partner) are exploring the origin of these expectations and how they might be learned over time.

Publications

Brunstrom, J.M. (in press). The control of meal size in humans: A role for expected satiety, expected satiation, and pre-meal planning. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.

Oldham-Cooper, R.E., Hardman, C.A., Nicoll, C.E., Rogers, P.J., & Brunstrom, J.M. (in press). Playing a computer game during lunch affects fullness, memory for lunch, and later snack intake. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Brunstrom, J.M., Brown, S., Hinton, E.C., Rogers, P.J., & Fay, S.H. (in press) 'Expected satiety' changes hunger and fullness in the inter-meal interval. Appetite.

Fay, S.H., Ferriday, D., Hinton, E.C., Shakeshaft, N.G, Rogers, P.J., & Brunstrom, J.M. (in press). What determines real-world meal size? Evidence for pre-meal planning. Appetite.

Ferriday, D. and Brunstrom, J.M. (2011) ‘I just can’t help myself’: effects of food-cue exposure in overweight and lean individuals. International Journal of Obesity, 35, 142-149.

Calitri, R., Pothos, E.M., Tapper, K., & Brunstrom, J.M., & Rogers, P.J. (2010). Cognitive biases to healthy and unhealthy foods predict change in BMI. Obesity, 18, 2282-2287.

O’Sullivan, H.L., Alexander, E., Ferriday, D., & Brunstrom, J.M. (2010). Effects of repeated exposure on liking for a reduced energy-dense food. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91, 1584-1589.

Wilkinson, L.L., Rowe, A.C., Bishop, R.J., & Brunstrom, J.M. (2010). Attachment anxiety, disinhibited eating, and body mass index in adulthood. International Journal of Obesity, 34, 9, 1442-1445.

Brunstrom, J.M., Shakeshaft, N.G., & Alexander, E. (2010). Familiarity changes expectations about fullness. Appetite, 54,587-590.

Brunstrom, J.M., Collingwood, J., & Rogers, P.J. (2010). Perceived volume, expected satiation, and the energy content of self-selected meals. Appetite, 55, 25-29.

Tetley, A., Brunstrom, J.M., Griffiths, P. (2010). The role of sensitivity to reward and impulsivity in food-cue reactivity. Eating Behaviors, 11, 138-143.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Rogers, P. J. (2009). How many calories are on our plate? Expected fullness, not liking, determines meal-size selection. Obesity, 17, 1884-1890.

Pothos, E. M., Calitri, R., Tapper, K., Brunstrom, J. M., & Rogers, P. J. (2009). Comparing Measures of Cognitive Bias Relating to Eating Behaviour. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23(7), 936-952.

Tetley, A., Brunstrom, J., & Griffiths, P. (2009). Individual differences in food-cue reactivity. The role of BMI and everyday portion-size selections. Appetite, 52(3), 614-620.

Wilkinson, L. L., & Brunstrom, J. M. (2009). Conditioning 'fullness expectations' in a novel dessert. Appetite, 52(3), 780-783.

Brunstrom, J.M., Shakeshaft, N.G. (2009). Measuring affective (liking) and non-affective (expected satiety) determinants of portion size and food reward. Appetite, 52, 108-14.

Brunstrom, J.M. (2009). Mindless vs mindful eating: How does portion size influence our energy intake? Nutrition in Practice, 10 (1), 4-5.

Ferriday, D. & Brunstrom J. M. (2008). How does food-cue exposure lead to larger meal sizes? British Journal of Nutrition, 9, 1-8.

Brunstrom, J. M., Rogers, P. J., Pothos, E. M., Calitri, R., & Tapper, K. (2008). Estimating everyday portion size using a 'method of constant stimuli': In a student sample, portion size is predicted by gender, dietary behaviour, and hunger, but not BMI. Appetite, 51, 296-301.

Brunstrom, J. M., Shakeshaft, N. G., & Scott-Samuel, N. E. (2008). Measuring 'expected satiety' in a range of common foods using a method of constant stimuli. Appetite, 51, 605-614.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Fletcher, H. Z. (2008). Flavour-flavour learning occurs automatically and only in hungry participants. Physiology & Behavior, 93, 13-19.

Brunstrom, J.M. (2007). Associative learning and the control of human dietary behavior. Appetite, 49, 268-271

Brunstrom, J. M. & Mitchell, G.L. (2007). Flavor-nutrient learning in restrained and unrestrained eaters. Physiology and Behavior, 90, 1, 133-141.

Brunstrom, J.M. (2007). Is dietary behaviour learned? Nutrition in Practice, 8 (1), 5-6.

Gibson, E. L. & Brunstrom, J. M. (2006). Learned influences on appetite and food intake: Evidence in human beings. In S. J. Cooper & T. C. Kirkham (Eds.) Progress in Brain Research: Appetite and Body Weight -- Integrative Systems and the Development of Anti-Obesity Drugs. Elsevier: London.

Brunstrom, J. M. & Mitchell, G.L. (2006). Effects of distraction on the development of satiety. British Journal of Nutrition, 96, 761-769.

Brunstrom, J. M., Mitchell, G. L., & Baguley, T. S. (2005). Potential early-life predictors of dietary behaviour in adulthood: A retrospective study. International Journal of Obesity, 29(5), 463-474.

Mitchell, G. L., & Brunstrom, J. M. (2005). Everyday dietary behaviour and the relationship between attention and meal size. Appetite.

Brunstrom, J. M. (2005). Dietary learning in humans: Directions for future research. Physiology & Behavior, 85(1), 57-65.

Brunstrom, J. M., Davison, C. J., & Mitchell, G. L. (2005). Dietary restraint and cognitive performance in children. Appetite, 45(3), 235-241.

Brunstrom, J. M., Higgs, S., & Mitchell, G. L. (2005). Dietary restraint and US devaluation predict evaluative learning. Physiology and Behavior, 85(5), 524-535.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Witcomb, G. L. (2004). Automatic and nonautomatic processes in dietary restraint: Further evidence for a commonality between food and drug abstinence. Eating Behaviors, 5(4), 365-373.

Brunstrom, J. M., Yates, H. M., & Witcomb, G. L. (2004). Dietary restraint and heightened reactivity to food. Physiology and Behavior, 81(1), 85-90.

Brunstrom, J. M. (2004). Does dietary learning occur outside awareness? Consciousness and Cognition, 13(3), 453-470.

Roberts, B., & Brunstrom, J. M. (2003). Spectral pattern, harmonic relations, and the perceptual grouping of low-numbered components. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 114(4 Pt 1), 2118-2134.

Brunstrom, J. M. (2002). Effects of mouth dryness on drinking behavior and beverage acceptability. Physiology and Behavior, 76(3), 423-429.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Higgs, S. (2002). Exploring evaluative conditioning using a working memory task. Learning and Motivation, 33(4), 433-455.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Roberts, B. (2001). Effects of asynchrony and ear of presentation on the pitch of mistuned partials in harmonic and frequency-shifted complex tones. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110(1), 391-401.

Roberts, B., & Brunstrom, J. M. (2001). Perceptual fusion and fragmentation of complex tones made inharmonic by applying different degrees of frequency shift and spectral stretch. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110(5 Pt 1), 2479-2490.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Roberts, B. (2000). Effects of asynchrony and ear of presentation on the pitch of mistuned partials in harmonic and frequency-shifted complex tones. British Journal of Audiology, 34(2), 100-101.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Roberts, B. (2000). Separate mechanisms govern the selection of spectral components for perceptual fusion and for the computation of global pitch. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 107(3), 1566-1577.

Brunstrom, J. M., Tribbeck, P. M., & MacRae, A. W. (2000). The role of mouth state in the termination of drinking behavior in humans. Physiology and Behavior, 68(4), 579-583.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Roberts, B. (2000). Effects of asynchrony and ear of presentation on the pitch of mistuned partials in harmonic and frequency-shifted complex tones. British Journal of Audiology, 34(2), 100-101.

Brunstrom, J. M., Downes, C. R., & Higgs, S. (2001). Effects of dietary restraint on flavour-flavour learning. Appetite, 37(3), 197-206.

Roberts, B., & Brunstrom, J. M. (1998). Perceptual segregation and pitch shifts of mistuned components in harmonic complexes and in regular inharmonic complexes. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 104(4), 2326-2338.

Brunstrom, J. M., & Roberts, B. (1998). Profiling the perceptual suppression of partials in periodic complex tones: further evidence for a harmonic template. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 104(6), 3511-3519.

Brunstrom, J.M. & Roberts, B. (1998). The role of global processes in the perceptual cohesion of harmonic complex tones. Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the International Congress on Acoustics and the Acoustical Society of America, Seattle, USA, Vol 1, pp. 177-178. Woodbury, NY: Acoustical Society of America.

Roberts, B. & Brunstrom, J.M. (1998). Perceptual segregation and pitch shifts of mistuned components in harmonic complexes and in regular inharmonic complexes. Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the International Congress on Acoustics and the Acoustical Society of America, Seattle, USA, Vol.1, pp. 181-182. Woodbury, NY: Acoustical Society of America.

Brunstrom, J. M., & MacRae, A. W. (1997). Effects of temperature and volume on measures of mouth dryness, thirst and stomach fullness in males and females. Appetite, 29(1), 31-42.

Brunstrom, J. M., MacRae, A. W., & Roberts, B. (1997). Mouth-state dependent changes in the judged pleasantness of water at different temperatures. Physiology and Behavior, 61(5), 667-669.

people | academic and research staff | support staff | PhD students